Now that you have listed your sources of revenue and the various expenses you expect to encounter, you can divide them into categories by using the following worksheets

Instructions: List the various sources of revenue you expect to earn, and the expense categories you are likely to incur. Then, divide the expenses into the Variable Expense and Fixed Expense categories. These items will become part of your Forecasting Worksheet and further refined later in this session. Once again, discuss these ideas with your mentor or counselor to gain perspective and improve your ideas.

Enter 0 for any items that do not apply. Items that already have a 0 will calculate automatically.

You can use the Calculate button at the end to see your totals. You can experiment with different Revenue/Cost combinations by replacing any of your original numbers and clicking the Calculate botton again.

Revenue Forecast

Whirligig Revenue Forecast

Unit Price

$25

Units Sold

21

Total Revenue

$525

Your Revenue Forecast

Unit Price

$

Units Sold

Total Revenue

$0.00

Expenses Divided into Variable and Fixed

Variable Expenses

Whirligig Bill of Materials

Material

$9.80

Paint

$2.25

Sandpaper

$1.00

Bolts and Washers

$.80

Support Rod

$1.15

Total Expenses

$15.00

Your Bill of Materials (Variable Expense)

$

$

$

$

$

Total Variable Expenses (Unit Cost)

$0.00

Gross Profit

The Gross Profit is the amount remaining after you subtract the total Variable Expenses from the Revenues. In other words, have you priced your product / service to sell for at least more than it costs you to provide it? The Gross Margin is the percentage that the Gross Profit represents as a part of the Revenue. Both the Gross Profit and the Gross Margin are referred to as "profitability" measures. Calculate your Gross Profit below by subtracting your Variable Expenses from your Revenues. Calculate your Gross Margin by dividing the Gross Profit by the Revenues.

Whirligig Gross Profit

a. Unit Price

$25

b. Unit Cost

$15

Sandpaper

$1.00

c. Gross Profit (a-b)

$10

d. Gross Margin (c/a)

40%

Your Gross Profit

Data in this form is from the two exercises above

a. Unit Price

$0.00

b. Unit Cost

$0.00

c. Gross Profit (a-b)

$0.00

d. Gross Margin (c/a)

0.00%

Fixed Expenses

Now you can calculate your Fixed Expenses. For a part-time home based business you may not have any Fixed Expenses. If you do have any Fixed Expenses, this will cause you to think about your Breakeven in the next section.

Whirligig Fixed Expenses

Rent

$100

Web Hosting

$27

Telephone

$33

Total Fixed Expenses

$160

Your Fixed Expenses

$

$

$

$

$

Total Fixed Expenses

$0.00

The following form will show you an Annual forecast based on your answers above. You can experiment by changing your answers to see how the results are affected.

BUZGate.org is an award-winning entrepreneurial education and resource community serving small and medium-sized businesses. Content promotes awareness and access to free government and nonprofit assistance programs and select business-to-business products and services tailored to driving venture startup, growth and profitability.

As featured in:

Thanking our Champions of Small Business Education and Development. View All